Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that Patient Initiated Follow Up does not create barriers for deprived and excluded patients to access NHS care.

The decision to place a patient on a Patient Initiated Follow Up (PIFU) pathway will be taken jointly by the patient and a clinician when the clinician identifies a patient who would benefit from accessing care in this way. The decision will always be based on a patient’s individual needs and circumstances, ensuring it is in the patient’s best interests.

The Outpatient Transformation Programme provides ongoing advice and support to systems and providers implementing PIFU. This includes continuous improvement and identifying any risks, such as those relating to health inequalities and exclusion and working to provide resolution/guidance on how to address them. As part of this national support offer, resources have been made available that encourage systems and providers to develop and regularly review their Equality Health Impact Assessments in relation to PIFU.